Weft-fork for looms



(No Model.) J O BURKE WEFT FORK FOR LOOMS.

No. 253,813. Patented Fb. 14,1882.

WITNESSES lNVENTOR flux/Ea 7 dadmm ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. OF GREAT FALLS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EBEN N. HIGLEY, OF SOMERSWORTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

W'EFT-FORK FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,813, dated February 14, 1882.

. Application filed May 14, 1881. (NomodeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. BURKE, a citizen of the United States, resident of Great Falls, in the county of Strafford and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in \Veft-Forks for Looms and I do. hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a sectional view of the weft-fork and carrier-strap. Fig.2 is a plan view thereof, showing also the weft'grate. Fig.3 is a perspective view ot' the weft-grate, and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views.

This invention has relation to the automatic stop-motion for arresting the motion of aloom upon the breakage of the weft; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter shown and described, and pointed out'in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter a designates the rat-k or grate having the bars a and theintervening slots (L This rack is provided with theright-angled tail-piece a which is made with a slot, at, extending horizontally. The bolt 2, for securing the rack to the lathe, is designed to pass through the slot a of the tail-piece, and serves to hold the rack firmly to the lathe, the latter being shown partly at 1 Fig. 2. The slot (it enables the weaver readily to adjust the rack laterally on said bolt.

The letter b designates the weft-fork, which is secured to the breast-beam by means of its carrier-strap 1), between the arms I) of which the fork is pivoted, having its heel b lying down between the bars 7t, and the front I) of its body portion lhanging down before the strap and carrying the head 0.

The body portion of the fork is held by a screw, it. in the recessed top 8 of the pivotblock g, which is journaled between the arms I) at the end of the carrier-strap.

The front b of the body is provided at its lower end with a transverse slot, cl, and the head 0 has in its shank portion 0 the longitudinal slot g1. The front and head are held together by means of a bolt, 0, passing through the slots (2 and d. The head a carries the tines h, which are turned upward, as shown, and have the rounded bends it. .The angular relation of the slots 01 and d to each other enablesthe operator to adjust the tines laterally, or up and down, as may be required. As the'lathemoves back and forth the shuttle is driven across and the filling beat in. At the same time the upwardly-benttines h of the fork-head enter the slots of the rack,and as they come in contact with the filling the heel of the fork is raised, and engagement with the belt-shipping connection prevented; butwhen there is no filling the tines of the fork pass through the slots of the rack so that the heel of the fork does not rise, and the usual cam forces the gooseneck or hammer up against the fork, forcing the fork back, and by means of the usual connections throws the belt from the tight to the loose pulley, stopping the loom. When the lathe gets a little out of position the fork strikes against the rack, and rising every time thelathe goes forward runs theloom and makes a thin'stripe in the cloth. The construction shown enables the weaver to easily adjust the rack and fork with reference to each other, so that their action will be precise. Sometimes the filling will drop under the fork and catch on the points of ordinary tines, thereby making a ragged selvage. The rounded bends in the tines of the fork-head are designed to prevent this accident. Then the fork is too high'or too low the head can be adjusted to bring the tines in the exact position required, and as this head is detachable, should one of its tines break, it can be easily removed and a new head substituted.

Having described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, lS-

1. The weft-fork-body portion having the transverse slot d, in combination with the head c, having the upwardly-bent tines and the longitudinal slot 61, and the connecting-bolt c, substantially as specified.

2. The pivoted seat-block g, recessed at s, in

combination with the body Z, the carrier-strap b, screw a, slotted front b slotted head 0, and connecting-bolt e, substantially as specified.

Iutestimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN cnovts BURKE.

Witnesses:

J. MALONZO, GEO. A. MALONZO. 

